I 


c 

0) 

m 

X 

o 
c 

m 


F 

830 
.1 

U5 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/campdouglasmilitOOunitrich 


^ 


48th  ConCxRess,  )  HOUSE  OF  REPftESENTATIYES.       (  Repo:  r 
1st  Session.       \ 


CAMP  DOUGLAS  MILITARY  RESERVATION,  UTAH. 


February  5,  1884.— Committed  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  House  and  ordered  to 

be  printed. 


u. 


Mr.  DiBRELL,  from  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  submitted  the 

following 

REPORT: 

[To  accompany  bill  H.  R.  1782.] 

The  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  to  whom  was  referred  the  bill  (H. 
R.  1782)  to  authorize  the  Secretary  of  War  to  relinquish  and  tarn  over 
to  the  Interior  Department  certain  parts  of  the  Camp  Douglas  military 
reservation  in  the  Territory  of  Utah,  having  had  the  same  under  con- 
sideration, respectfully  submit  its  following  report,  which  was  adopted 
by  the  Military  Committee,  House  of  Representatives,  in  the  Forty-sixth 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  recommend  the  passage  of  said  bill. 

Said  report,  made  to  the  Forty-sixth  Congress,  is  as  follows :  p^S 

Mr.  DiBRELL,  from  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  snbmitted  the  following  re-        • 
port  to  accompany  bill  H.  R.  1287. 

The  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  to  ichom  was  referred  the  hill  (H.  B.  1287)  to  authorize 
the  Seo-etary  of  War  to  relinquish  and  turn  over  to  the  InteHor  Department  certain  parts 
of  the  Camp  Douglas  military  reservation,  in  the  Territory  of  Utah,  have  had  the  same 
under  consideration,  and  submit  the  following  report : 

This  bill,  which,  by  its  terras,  authorizes  the  Secretary  of  War  to  relinquish  and 
turn  over  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  for  restoration  to  the  public  domain  a 
certain  portion  of  the  Camp  Douglas  military  reservation,  in  the  Territory  of  Utah 
is  for  the  relief  of  Mr.  Charles  Popper,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  resident  in  said 
Territory  of  Utah. 

In  the  last  Congress  a  bill  of  similar  import  to  that  now  under  consideration  was 
introduced  into  the  Senate  and  refeiTed  to  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs.  That 
committee  considered  it,  and  made  a  unanimous  report  in  its  favor.  It  was  placed 
upon  the  calendar,  but  Congress  adjourned  before  it  was  reached. 

From  the  record  filed  in  the  case,  it  appoirs  by  Executive  Document  No.  97,  House 
of  Representatives,  first  session  Forty-fourth  Congress,  that  Mr.  Charles  Popper  set- 
tled in  the  Territory  of  Utah,  in  the  year  1864,  and  that  he  purchased  of  certain 
herders  of  cattle,  then  settled  upon  lands  now  comprised  within  the  military  reserva- 
tion of  Camp  Douglas,  their  possessory  rights  thereupon,  together  with  certain  im- 
provements, consisting  of  a  log  cabin  and  corral,  for  the  sum  of  |!800.  Immediately 
thereafter  he  erecred  a  slaughter-house  and  corral  on  the  said  land,  at  an  outlay  of 
$2,000,  dug  a  ditch  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length,  laid  pipes  from  a  certain  spring 
contiguous  to  the  slaughter-house,  at  an  additional  cost  of  $500.  In  the  year  1865  he 
erected  a  cut-stone  rock  building  thereon,  at  the  cost  of  $14,000,  and  expended  in  other 
improvements,  such  asout-houses,  stables,  &c.,  not  less  than  $10,000 additional  mak- 
ing the  total  outlay  upon  said  land  the  sum  of  $26,500.  He  has  occupied  said  prem- 
ises and  held  peaceable  possession  thereof  ever  since. 

At  this  time  (1865)  the  land  was  unsurveyed,  and  no  land-office  had  been  established 
by  the  Government  in  Utah  Territory.  On  September  3, 1867.  however,  and  prior  to 
any  survey,  the  extension  of  the  Camp  Douglas  military  reservation  was  ordered  to 
be  established  by  the  President,  and  was  so  announced  in  General  Order  No.  66  head- 
quarters Department  of  the  Platte,  December  17,  1869.     It  will  be  observed  that  this 


2  CAMP   DOUGLAS    MILITARY    RESERVATION,    UTAH. 

reservation  was  established  in  1867,  but  it  does  not  appear  to  have  been  definitely 
located  nor  surveyed  until  1869.  Therefore,  prior  to  this  survey,  Mr.  Popper  was  un- 
apprised that  the  laud  upon  which  he  had  settled  and  made  these  large  and  expensive 
improvements  was  in  any  wise  embraced  within  a  military  reservation,  and  the  sur- 
vey of  1869  was  his  first  iuformation  in  the  premises,  after  he  had  occupied  the  same 
and  paid  city,  county,  and  Territorial  taxes  thereon  for  nearly  four  years. 

It  appears  from  the  sworn  statement  of  General  George  R.  Maxwell,  late  register  of 
tlie  United  States  land-office  at  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah  Territory,  that  Mr.  Popper  took 
necessary  steps,  so  soon  as  the  land -office  was  established,  to  protect  his  claim,  and 

t>r<)cure  a  title  to  the  lands  occupied  by  him,  and  made  proof  of  his  occupation  thereof, 
lis  purchase  from  a  previous  owner  in  1864,  and  the  erection  by  him  of  other  improve- 
ments thereon,  at  an  outlay  of  large  sums  of  money,  which  papers  were  all  forwarded 
to  the  General  Land  Office  at  Washington,  with  the  recommendation  that  Mr.  Popper 
bo  allowed  to  purchase  the  same.  But  this  purchase,  as  of  necessity,  could  not  be 
permitted,  because  of  the  subsequent  extension  of  the  said  military  reservation. 

Upon  the  occupation  of  said  reservation  by  the  military  authorities,  the  fact  of  Mr. 
Poppei-'s  occupation  of  a  portion  thereof,  together  with  a  statement  of  the  improve- 
ments erected  thereon  by  him,  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 
under  the  general  practice  adopted  of  forcing  all  squatters  to  remove  from  military 
reservations  when  the  same  are  established  or  extended. 

The  following  is  the  correspondence,  through  the  various  military  channels,  in  ref- 
erence to  Mr.  Popper's  case,  until  Lieut.  Gen.  P.  H.  Sheridan,  of  date  Chicago,  De- 
cember 28,  1875,  upon  a  review  of  the  entire  premises,  recommends  that  the  Government 
do  relinquish  so  much  of  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  reservation  as  embraces  the  apparently 
us  t  claim,  of  Mr.  Charles  Popper  : 

Headquarters  Camp  Douglas,  Utah  Territory, 

December  11,  1874. 

Sir  :  In  compliance  with  your  instructions,  dated  Headquarters  Department  Platte, 
Omaha,  Nebr.,  September  8,  1874,  to  remove  all  trespassers  from  the  reservation  at 
Camp  Douglas,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report: 

Upon  investigation  the  following  trespassers  were  found : 

First.  Mrs.  Ann  Elmer  has  a  small  two-story  house,  basement  built  of  red  sand- 
stone, upper  story  of  adobe,  of  little  value,  situated  near  the  southern  line  of  the 
reservation,  and  built  before  the  extension.  Mrs.  Elmer  was  notified  to  remove  said 
buildiuij ;  she  has  not  complied,  and  it  will  be  taken  down  as  soon  as  men  can  be 
spared  tor  that  purpose. 

Second.  Frame  building  near  northwest  corner  of  reservation,  occupied  by  Mrs. 

;  built  by  mistake  on  the  reservation ;  notice  given,  and  the  house  has  been 

removed. 

Third.  Old  brick  mills  and  kiln  near  west  line  of  reservation,  of  little  value :  notice 
given  and  complied  with. 

Fourth.  A  small  adobe  house  near  west  line  of  reservation,  owned  and  occupied 
by  Stephen  Pope  and  wife— very  old  people— who  evidently  have  been  deceived  in  the 
purchase  of  their  supposed  little  property.  Upon  investigation  of  their  papers,  I  find 
that  the  lot  was  certified  by  the  Salt  Lake  authorities  to  Christian  E.  Norholm,  March 
24,  1867.  No  transfer  has  been  made  by  Norholm  to  John  Baswell,  who  made  a  con- 
veyance to  Pope,  which  was  recorded  March  24,  1869.  No  action  taken  in  this  case, 
as  I  would  deem  it  cruel  to  dispossess  these  old  people  at  once. 

"Fifth.  Two  temporary  buildings  (board)  for  ice-houses,  half-way  between  post  and 
west  line  of  reservation,  owned  by  John  Heil,  who  claims  to  have  had  verbal  permis- 
sion from  Lieut.  Col.  H.  A.  Morrow;  notice  to  vacate  given;  action  suspended  until 
petition  herewith,  marked  A,  can  be  considered  by  the  department  commander.  I 
would  recommend  that  he  be  permitted  to  use  his  ice-houses  until  next  fall,  and  then 
required  to  vacate,  as  he  has  been  to  considerable  labor  and  expense. 

Sixth.  Extensive  and  valuable  improvements  near  north  line  of  reservation  (see 
plat  inclosed,  together  with  papers  in  the  case,  Nos.  1,  2,  3,  4),  belonging  to  Charles 
Popper,  beef-contractor.  »    ^ 

These  improvements  consist  of  a  large  sandstone  building,  suitable  for  the  manu- 
facture of  soap  and  candles ;  three  frame  buildings,  cattle  and  pig  pens,  and  consid- 
erable tenciuff,  as  set  forth  in  Mr.  Popper's  declaration,  and  which  has  been  verified 
by  a  personal  examination  in  connection  with  the  papers  submitted.  I  have  made 
diligent  inquiry  and  find  these  improvements  were  made  as  stated  previous  to  the  ex- 
i*°T?sSV  JT7'?;^u''°,'  as  declared  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Septem- 
ber 3,  1867,  and  that  Charles  Popper  has  an  equitable  claim  for  the  favorable  consid- 
eration of  the  proper  authorities. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  most  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JNO.  E.  SMITH, 

To  the  ASSISTANT  Adjutant-Gexeral,    ^"'""''  ^'""''^"'^  ^"•^^^''^'  Commanding, 
Headquarters  Department  of  the  Platte,  Omaha,  Nebr. 


CAMP    DOUGLAS    MILITARY    RESERVATION,    UTAH.  3 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Platte, 

Omaha,  Nebr.,  December  24,  1874. 
Respectfully  forwarded  to  headquarters  Military  Division  of  the  Missouri.     Atten- 
tion is  invited  to  indorsements  on  the  within  iuclosures. 

E.  O.  C.  ORD, 
Brigadier-General  Commanding. 

[Second  indorsement.] 

Headquarters  Military  Division  Missouri, 

Chicago,  December  31,  1874. 
Respectfully  forwarded  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Army. 
In  the  absence  of  the  Lieutenant-General. 

R.  C.  DRUM, 
Assistant  Adjutant- General. 

[Third  indorsement.] 

Headquarters  of  the  Army, 

Saint  Louis,  January  5,  1875. 
Respectfully  forwarded  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 

W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

General. 
[Fourth  indorsement.] 

War  Department,  Adjutant-General's  Office, 

Washington,  January  19,  1875. 
Respectfully  submitted  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  inviting  attention  to  accompany- 
ing brief  and  report. 

E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Adjutant-General. 
[Fifth  indorsement.] 

War  Department,  April  12,  1875. 
Re8pectfu^ly  returned  to  the  Adjutant-General. 

The  views  and  action  of  General  Ord  in  all  of  the  within  cases,  as  well  as  his  recom- 
mendation regarding  the  appointment  of  a  board  of  officers,  not  stationed  at  Camp 
Douglas,  to  examine  into  the  merits  of  any  claim  of  Charles  Popper  to  further  com- 
pensation for  improvements,  are  approved. 

The  board  will  be  ordered  by  the  department  commander. 

WM.  W.  BELKNAP, 

Secretary  of  War. 
[Received  back  Adjutant-General's  Office  April  13,  1875.] 

[Sixth  indorsement.] 

War  Department,  Adjutant-General's  Office, 

Washington,  April  15,  1875. 
Respectfully  returned,  through  headquarters  of  the  Army,  to  the  commanding  gen- 
eral Department  of  the  Platte,  for  appropriate  action,  inviting  attention  to  the  de- 
cision and  orders  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  indorsed  hereon. 

These  papers  to  be  returned  to  this  office  with  report  of  action  and  proceedings  of 
board  of  officers. 
By  order  of  tbe  Secretarv  of  War: 

E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Adjutant-General. 
[Received  back  Adjutant-General's  Office  .Tune  10,  1875.] 

[Seventh  indorsement.] 

War  Department,  Adjutant-General's  Office, 

Washington,  June  11,  1875. 
Respectfully  returned  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  with  proceedings  of  a  board  of  offi- 
cers, convened  by  orders  from  headquarters  Department  of  the  Platte,  dated  May  7, 
1875,  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Charles  Popper. 

E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Adjutant- General. 
2993  Adjutant-General's  Office  accompaning. 


4  CAMP    DOUGLAS   MILITARY    RESERVATION,    UTAH. 

[Eighth  indorsement.] 

War  Department,  June  19,  1875. 

Respectfully  returned  to  the  Adjntaut-Geueral  of  the  Army,  calling  attention  to  the 
fact  tiiat  General  Crook's  order  convening  the  board  of  officers  doe.s  uot  appear  to 
liave  been  exactly  conforuiable  to  the  directions  of  the  Secretary  of  War.  The  Sec- 
retary of  War  approved  of  the  views  and  reconmieudations  of  General  Ord.  These 
were  as  follows:  *  *  *  "J  therefore  disapprove  of  any  commission  to  purchase 
land  being  given  this  man,  because  of  ihe  various  privileges  and  favors  granted  him 
of  occupying  gratis  a  valuable  and  choice  location,  well  supplied  with  a  never-failing 
spring.  '*  ♦•  *  I  recommend  that  a  board  of  officers,  not  stationed  at  Camp  Doug- 
las, be  ordered  to  examine  into  the  merits  of  any  claim  of  Mr.  Popper  to  further  com- 
pensation for  improvements,  and  after  assessing  the  rent  which  the  land  could  have 
brought  the  United  States  on  Mr.  Popper,  at  current  rates,  the  dift'erence,  if  any,  be- 
tween the  actual  present  worth  of  Mr.  Popper's  origiual  improvements,  not  the  farm 
or  appurtenances  thereto,  and  what  Mr.  Popper  would  have  had  to  pay  as  rent  to  pri- 
vate parties,  be  allowed  him." 

Let  the  papers  be  returned  to  the  general  commanding  the  Department  of  the  Platte 
with  directions  to  reconvene  the  board  of  officers  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the 
foregoing  recommendations  of  General  Ord.  Congress  alone  can  permit  Mr.  Popper 
to  acquire  a  title  to  any  part  of  the  reservation.  While  this  may  prove,  after  all,  the 
best  settlement  of  the  claim,  it  is  not  the  mode  heretofore  approved  by  the  Secretary 
of  War,  and  for  which  the  services  of  the  board  of  officers  were  particularlv  required. 

WM.  W.  BELKNAP, 

Secretary  of  War. 

[Received  back  Adjutant-General's  Office  June  24,  1875.] 

[Ninth  indorsement.] 

War  Department,  Adjutant  General's  Office, 

WasMvgton,  June  25,  1875. 
Respectfully  returned,  through  headquarters  of  the  Army,  to  the  commanding  gen- 
eral Department  of  the  Platte,  who  will  cause  the  board  of  officers  to  be  reconvened 
in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  contained  in  preceding 
indorsement  (8th). 
These  papers  to  be  returned  as  heretofore  directed. 
By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War : 

THOMAS  M.  VINCENT, 
Assistant  Adjutant- General. 

fTenth  indorsement.] 

Headquarters  of  the  Army, 

Saint  Louis,  June  28,  1875. 
Respectfully  transmitted,  through  headquarters  Division  of  the  Missouri. 
By  command  of  General  Sherman : 

WM.  D.  WHIPPLE, 

Assistant  Adjutant- General. 

[Eleventh  indorsement] 

Headquarters  Military  Division  of  the  Missouri, 

Chicago,  June  29,  1875. 
Respectfully  returned  to  the  commanding  general  Department  of  the  Platte. 
By  command  of  Lieu  tenant-General  Sheridan : 

R.  C.  DRUM, 
Assistant  Adjutant-General. 
[Twelfth  indorsement.  I 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Platte, 

Omaha,  Nebr.,  November  13,  1875. 
Respectfully  returned  to  Col.  I.  N.  Palmer,  Second  Cavalry,  president  of  the  board 
of  officers  convened  by  paragraph  G,  Special  Order  No.  55,  and  reconvened  per  para- 
graph 2,  Special  Order  No.  123,  current  series,  from  these  headquarters  (copy  inclosed). 
By  command  of  Brigadier-General  Crook : 

GEO.  D.  RUGGLES, 
Assistant  Adjutant-General. 
[Received  back  December  15, 1875,  with  proceedings  indorsed ,  and  certified  to  Colonel 
Palmer,  Second  Cavalry,  president  of  the  board,  for  completion,  December  16,  1875 : 
back,  with  correction  made,  December  23,  1875.1 


CAMP   DOUGLAS   MILITARY   RESERVATION,    UTAH.  5 

[  Thirteenth  indorsement,  j 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Platte, 

Omaha,  Nehr.,  December  23,  1875. 
Respectfully  returned,  through  headquarters  Military  Division  of  the  Missouri,  to 
the  Adjutant-General  of  the  Arnjy,  with  new  proceedings  in  the  case,  which  ai'e 
approved. 

GEORGE  CROOK,  _ 
Brigadier-  Genera  I,  Commanding. 

[Fourteenth  indorsement.] 

Headquarters  Military  Division  of  the  Missouri, 

Chicago,  December  28,  1875. 
Respectfully  returned  to  the  Adjutant-General  of  the  Army,  recommending  that 
the  Government  relinquish  so  much  of  the  northwestern  comer  of  the  reservation  as 
embraces  the  apparently  just  claim  of  Mr.  Charles  Popper. 

This  is,  in  my  judgment,  the  best  way  to  settle  this  question,  especially^  as  that  por- 
tion of  the  reservation  is  not  necessary  to  the  wants  of  the  public  service  at  Camp 
Douglas. 

P.  H.  SHERIDAN, 
Lieutenant- General,  Commanding. 

[Received  back  Adjutant-General's  Office  December  31, 1875,  with  three  inclosures, 
twelve  indorsements.  ] 

[Fifteenth  indorsement.] 

War  Department,  Adjutant-General's  Office, 

Washington,  January  4,  1876. 
Respectfully  returned  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  inviting  attention  to  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  indorsements  hereon. 

E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Adjutant-General. 

The  merits  of  Mr.  Popper's  claim  to  the  lands  in  question  were  investigated  by  a 
board  of  officers,  convened  under  authority  of  the  War  Department,  consisting  of 
Col.  I.  N.  Palmer,  Second  Cavalry ;  Col.  F.  F.  Flint,  Fourth  Infantry,  and  First  Lieut. 
George  O.  Webster,  adjutant  Fourth  Infantry,  which  board  assembled  in  pursuance 
of  the  following  order : 

[Special  Order  No.  55.— Extract.] 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Platte, 

Omaha,  Nebr.,  May  7,  1875. 

V.  A  board  of  officers,  to  consist  of  Col.  I.  N.  Palmer,  Second  Cavalry;  Col.  F.  F. 
Flint,  Fourth  Infantry,  and  First  Lieut.  George  O.  Webster,  adjutant  Fourth  Infantry, 
will  assemble  at  Camp  Douglas,  Utah  Territory,  at  10  o'clock  a.  ni.,  on  Thursday,  May 
13,  1875,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  practicable,  to  examine  into  the  merits  of  any  claim 
of  Mr.  Charles  Popper  to  further  compensation  for  improvements  on  the  military  reser- 
vation of  Camp  Douglas,  and  to  investigate  generally  and  thoroughly,  and  report  fully, 
upon  the  subject  of  the  occupation  of  part  or  parts  of  the  said  reservation  by  the  said 
Mr.  Charles  Popper  or  his  agents. 

*^#  #  *  *  #  * 

By  command  of  Brigadier-General  Crook : 

GEO.  D.  RUGGLES, 
Aasisiant  Adjutant- General. 

After  taking  testimony  and  going  through  various  deliberations,  with  the  usual 
formalities  and  routine  incident  to  such  proceedings,  the  board  found  for  the  merits 
of  Mr.  Popper's  claim,  but  suggested  that  the  only  way  he  could  obtain  proper  relief 
would  be  by  act  of  Congress,  which  body  would  either  direct  a  redrawing  of  the  lines 
of  the  Camp  Douglas  Reservation,  so  as  to  exclude  the  land  in  question,  or  appro- 
priate money  to  pay  a  just  and  reasonable  price  for  the  improvements  which  were  on 
the  land  in  question  at  the  time  it  was  enveloped  in  the  military  reservation,  as  re- 
established in  1867.  But  the  board  also  found  that  the  land  in  question,  tvereit  not  for 
the  improvements  made  upon  it  by  Mr.  Popper,  would  be  of  no  value  to  the  United  States  or 
to  any  private  party  as  a  place  to  rent.     Hence,  the  improvements  being  of  no  use  to  the 


6  CAMP    DOUGLAS    MILITARY    RESERVATION,    UTAH. 

Government,  by  reason  of  the  land  being  of  no  value  to  the  Government  for  any  pur- 
pose, it  would  follow  that  Congress  could  not  justifiably  appropriate  money  to  pay 
for  improvements  valueless  to  the  Government.  The  remedy,  therefore,  suggested  by 
Lieutenant-General  Sheridan  was  accepted  by  the  Department  of  War,  and  the  Sec- 
retary submitted  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  of  date  January  20,  1876,  the  fol- 
lowing communication,  transmitting  the  papers  which  have  in  part  been  quoted  here- 
in by  your  committee : 

[House  Ex.  Doc.  No.  97.    Forty -fourth  Congress,  first  session.] 

Letter  fr<nn  the  Secretary  oj  War  transmitting  correspondence  relating  to  the  military  reserva^ 
tion  at  Camp  Douglas,  Utah 

War  Department,  January  20,  1876. 

The  Secretary  of  War  has  the  honor  to  submit  to  the  House  of  Representatives  the 
following  communication  : 

The  military  reservation  of  Camp  Douglas,  Utah,  as  ordered  by  the  President,  Sep- 
tember 3,  1867,  included  certain  valuable  improvements  made  in  good  faith  by  Charles 
Popper,  among  which  were  a  slaughter-house  and  a  stone-built  soap-factory.  The 
improvements  are  in  a  hollow  near  the  northwest  corner  of  the  reservation.  The 
matter  has  been  investigated  by  aboard  of  officers,  and  the  following  recommendation 
of  Lieutenant-General  Sheridan  meets  the  approval  of  the  Secretary  of  War:  ''That 
the  Government  relinquish  so  much  of  the  northwest  corner  of  the  reservation  as  em- 
braces the  apparently  just  claim  of  Mr.  Charles  Popper.  This  is,  in  my  judgment,  the 
best  way  to  settle  this  question,  especially  as  that  portion  of  the  reservation  is  not 
necessary  to  the  wants  of  the  public  service  at  Camp  Douglas."  The  act  of  June  22, 
1874,  concerning  certain  reservations  in  Arizona,  may  be  suggested  as  a  precedent  in 
point  of  form. 

Attention  is  also  invited  to  a  claim  by  Stephen  Pope  for  improvements  included 
within  the  same  reservation.  In  this  case  a  board  of  otficers  has  recommended  the 
payment  by  the  Government  of  $iriO  for  any  losses  sustained  by  Pope  in  consequence 
of  removal  from  the  reservation,  but  the  Secretary  of  War  concurs  in  the  opinion 
reported  by  the  Acting  Qaartermaster-General — 

"Tbat  the  payment  *  ^  *  recommended  by  the  board  *  *  *  cannot  be 
made  without  the  sanction  of  Congress.  The  case  appears  to  be  similar  to  that  of 
Matthew  Palen  and  others,  for  property  taken  by  the  Government  in  the  extension  of 
the  Camp  Mohave  Reservation,  favorably  settled  by  act  approved  February  19, 1873.'^ 

Claims  of  similar  character  in  the  experience  of  this  Dei)artment  have  been  not 
iDfrequent.  With  a  view  to  some  examination  of  them  when  presented,  General  Order 
No.  74,  Adjutant-General's  OflSce,  November  2,  1869,  provided : 

"  Hereafter  no  squatter  or  citizen  will  be  permitted  to  enter  or  reside  upon  a  military 
reservation,  unless  he  be  in  the  employment  of  the  Government,  or  permitted  by  the 
department  commander.  *  *  *  Where  parties  are  already  in  possession,  with 
valuable  improvements,  the  department  commander  will  cause  an  investigation  to  be 
made,  and  submit  each  case  separately  for  the  decision  and  orders  of  the  Secretary 
of  War." 

It  is  believed,  however,  that  compensation  for  the  loss  of  such  improvements  cannot, 
in  general,  be  properly  made  without  the  special  sanction  of  Congress,  except  in  case* 
arising  within  the  old  Territory  of  Oregon,  where,  by  section  9  of  the  act  of  February 
14,  1853,  being  "An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled  *An  act  to  create  the  office  of  sur- 
veyor-general of  the  public  lands  of  Oregon,'"  &c.,  it  is  provided  as  follows: 

"  That  if  it  shall  be  deemed  necessary,  in  the  judgment  of  the  President,  to  include 
in  any  such  reservation  the  improvement  of  any  settler  made  previous  to  such  reser- 
vation, it  shall  in  such  case  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  War  to  cause  the  value  of 
such  improvements  to  be  ascertained,  and  the  amount  so  ascertained  shall  be  paid  to 
the  party  entitled  thereto  out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appro- 
priated." 

In  accordance  with  the  general  policy  of  encouraging  the  settlement  of  the  public 
domain,  this  act  recognizes  the  justice  of  making  compensation  to  settlers  who  have 
not  yet  acquired  title  to  their  lands,  but  who  have  been  unexpectedly  deprived  of  the 
fruits  of  their  labor  by  the  ai;tion  of  the  Government.  It  is  respectfully  submitted  to 
the  consideration  of  Congress  whether  some  legislative  provision,  similar  to  that  con- 
tained in  the  above-recited  act  of  Congress  relating  to  the  former  Territory  of  Oregon, 
ought  not  to  be  made  applicable  to  military  reservations  everywhere. 

The  papers  relating  to  the  above-mentioned  claims  of  Charles  Popper  and  Stephen 
Pope  are  herewith  transmitted. 

WM.  W.  BELKNAP, 

Secretary  of  War, 


CAMP    DOUGLAS    MILITARY    RESERVATION,    UTAH.  7 

The  board  of  officers  convened  for  investigation  and  report  on  Mr.  Popper's  claim 
found,  among  other  facts,  as  stated  in  the  following  extract  from  their  proceedings  : 

"Col.  John  E.  Smith,  Fourteenth  Infantry,  commanding  at  Camp  Douglas,  gives  it  as 
his  opinion  that  Mr.  Popper's  property  is  in  no  way  necessary  for  military  purposes. 
It  is  some  distance  from  the  main  road  leading  from  Camp  Douglas  to  Salt  Lake  City. 
The  slaughter-house  is  iu  no  way  a  nuisance  to  the  post ;  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
ground  is  uutit  for  any  purpose,  being  the  side  of  a  mountain,  or  broken  up  in  ravines 
or  ditches,  and  is  so  located  that  it  will  probably  never  be  required  for  any  public 
purposes.  , 

"Although  the  order  convening  the  board  in  this  case  does  not  direct  that  an  opinion 
be  expressed,  it  is  believed  that  it  was  intended  that  it  should  do  so,  and  it  is  the 
opinion  of  the  board  that  Mr.  Popper  should  be  permitted  to  acquire  a  title  to  any  por- 
tion of  the  land  designated  in  the  accompanying  map  as  Popper's  property  which  was 
not  included  in  the  first  reservation  of  one  mile  square,  and  was  brought  into  the  res- 
ervation, as  declared  by  the  order  of  the  President,  September  H,  1867. 

"But,  as  it  is  considered  that  it  would  be  for  the  best  interests  of  the  service  for  the 
Ooverumeut  to  have  possession  of  the  lower  half  of  the  southernmost  portion  of  Mr. 
Popper's  laud,  it  is  recommended  that  if  any  permission  is  accorded  to  Mr.  Popper  to 
purchase,  that  such  southern  half  be  retained,  giving  him,  Popper,  an  equal  amount 
of  land  immediately  to  the  westward  of  the  northern  half  of  such  southern  portion. 
The  board  inclose  a  map  showing  the  proposed  division  of  the  'quarter-section'  re- 
ferred to.     (Map  is  dated  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah  Territory,  May  15,  1875.) 

"  Mr.  Popper  has  declared  himself  satisfied  with  such  an  arrangement  as  the  one  just 
referred  to." 

From  this  it  would  appear  that  it  would  be  for  the  best  interests  6f  the  Government 
to  have  possession  of  the  lower  half  of  the  southernmost  portion  of  Mr.  Popper's  land, 
allowing  Mr.  Popper  an  equal  amount  of  land  immediately  to  the  westward  of  the 
northern  half  of  such  southern  portion,  a  proposition  to  which  Mr.  Popper  appears  to 
have  acceded.  The  map  referred  to  and  forwarded  by  the  board,  showing  the  pro- 
posed division  of  the  quarter-section,  is  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  the  description  of  the  land  as  stated  in  the  bill,  containing 
151^Vff  acres,  conforms  to  and  agrees  with  the  maji  so  transmitted  by  the  said  board  of 
officers  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  Hence,  so  far  as  this  matter  is  concerned,  the  laud 
proposed  by  the  bill  to  be  turned  over  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  for  the  purpose  of  allowing  Mr.  Popper  to  enter  the  same  at  Government 
rates,  in  view  of  the  equities  of  his  claim,  is  the  laud  recommended  by  the  said  board 
of  officers,  in  part  by  substitution  as  aforesaid,  and  embraces  the  improvements  erected 
by  Mr.  Popper,  and  which  is,  as  found  by  the  said  board,  not  needed  for  military  pur- 
poses. 

It  appears  affirmatively  by  the  record  that  Mr.  Popper  has  never  exercised  the  right 
of  pre-emption  conferred  by  existing  laws,  and,  therefore,  still  retains  the  privilege. 
Your  committee  find,  the  premises  considered,  that  Mr.  Popper's  settlement  on  said 
land  was  bona  fide,  and  that  at  the  time  of  his  said  settlement  he  could  have  been  iu 
no  wise  advised  of  the  probability  of  its  beiug  included  within  any  prospective  ex- 
tension of  the  military  reservation.  He  had  made  large  outlay  in  the  way  of  erect- 
ing improvements  prior  to  any  action  taken  by  the  authorities  to  set  the  land  aside 
for  military  purposes,  and  had  been  assessed  for  and  paid  taxes  upon  the  same  also 
prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  military  reservation.  He  has  always  occupied  the 
premises  and  retained  peaceable  possession  of  the  same.  The  land  being  not  needed 
for  military  purposes  and  the  improvements  of  no  value  to  the  Government,  it  would 
seem  proper  to  aflbrd  him  the  relief  he  seeks,  especially  since  the  whole  matter  has 
been  formally  inquired  into  and  reported  upon  by  the  military  authorities,  through  a 
board  consisting  of  officers  of  the  highest  character,  whose  action,  together  with  the 
conclusions  of  the  Lieutenant-General  of  the  Army,  and  the  recommendations  of  the 
Secretary  of  War,  ought  to  be  conclusive  upon  Congress. 

The  committee  therefore  recommend  the  passage  of  the  bill. 


